A Russian lawmaker wants legislation that would give President Vladimir Putin free rein when defending their citizens from international bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This was suggested by State Duma Chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, citing America’s Hague Invasion Act as an example.
But what is the Hague Invasion Act?
Firstly, the United States is not a member of the ICC, but it adopted a law in 2002, called The American Service-Members’ Protection Act, known for its nickname,
The act is described as a bill to protect U.S. military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the United States government against criminal prosecution by an international criminal court to which the United States is not a party.
The act also gives the U.S. President the power to use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the ICC.
The Act gives the U.S. President the power to use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court.
What does this mean? It means that the act allows the President to order American military action, such as an invasion of The Hague, where the ICC is located, to protect American officials and military personnel from prosecution or rescue them from custody.
At the time, the international community gravely reacted to the passed law, especially The Netherlands and the human rights watch.
According to Russian lawmaker Volodin, Russia needs to have similar legislation and suggested further strengthening Russia’s national legislation by banning any ICC activities on Russian territory.
He also wants to introduce criminal liability for anyone in Russia supporting or aiding ICC’s activities in the country.
Further, Volodin suggested that Russia should sign bilateral agreements with friendly nations that would involve a reciprocal waiver of any cooperation with the ICC.
And, just like The Hague Invasion Act, Volodin suggested that Moscow’s president should have the right to take any action to protect Russian citizens in case bodies like the ICC pursue decisions that violate the Russian Constitution.
It can be remembered that Russia is not an ICC member; Moscow signed the Rome statute establishing to ICC in the year 2,000 but did not ratify it.
To recall, just this March, ICC Prosecutor Khan sent a petition to the pre-trial chamber to obtain warrants of arrest for Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova for the alleged unlawful deportation of children population and the unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
The warrant, however, was scoffed at by the Kremlin, dismissing it as irrelevant.
Meanwhile, ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, who is also the deputy chair of the National Security Council, called the ICC a puny international organization, and the arrest warrant, a toilet paper.
Medvedev also criticized the ICC for failing to take into custody Sudanese ex-President Omar Al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019.
